Delhi: Artificial intelligence has changed the workplace conversation. The debate is no longer about whether AI will become part of business, but about how organisations, managers and employees adapt as AI becomes part of everyday work.
That conversation took centre stage at the Agile Gurugram & Delhi National Capital Region 2026 Conference, organised by the Agile Network India community and co-hosted by the Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS), Rohini. The conference brought together business leaders, Agile practitioners, technology experts and students under the theme “Future of AI in the Workplace”.
Industry leaders discuss leadership, talent and enterprise AI
After welcoming the audience, Dr Pooja Jain, Professor and Director, JIMS Rohini, said the workplace students will enter is already being redesigned by AI, making industry-academia collaborations more important than ever. Conference Chair Ravi Pratap Singh Chauhan followed with an overview of the programme and the need for organisations to evolve alongside rapid technological change.
The keynote sessions opened with Sunil Goyal, who spoke on “Leadership in the Autonomous Age”, exploring how leadership changes when autonomous systems become part of everyday business operations.
Krishna Kabra, India Head of Global Capability Centre at Orange Business Services, delivered the keynote on “Leading Beyond the Algorithm”, highlighting the continued importance of human judgement, ethics and decision-making in AI-enabled organisations.
The panel discussion, “Your Next Role in an AI-First World”, shifted attention to careers. Moderated by Runu Jain, CHRO, Magic EdTech, it featured Simin Askari, former Group CHRO and Head of Business Excellence at DS Group; Kashish Kapoor, CHRO at Newgen; and Rajaat Jasujaa, Manager, People Business Partner at SentinelOne.
The discussion focused on leadership, adaptability, employee support and balancing AI-driven efficiency with human capability.
The afternoon sessions looked at AI in practice. Rupesh Ranjan, Global Delivery Leader for AI, Data and Digital Transformation at Thoughtworks, presented “Enterprise AI in Action”, explaining how AI assistants can be operationalised at enterprise scale.
Rahul Kumar Gupta, Vice President, Digital Engineering at Incedo Inc., introduced the AI Systems Development Lifecycle through “AISDLC – Why, What and How”. Seema Rani, Vice President, Technical Program Management at Mastercard, explored creativity and talent in “Swinging Forward: The Four Human Superpowers for an AI-Native World”.
Gagandeep Singh, Founder of Hello Excellence Consulting, discussed emotional intelligence through the lens of sports, while Divik Thareja, Director at TO THE NEW, examined leadership in organisations where AI agents increasingly work alongside people.
The day concluded with keynote addresses by Vinod Sood, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Hughes Systique Corporation, on building a future-ready workforce, and Rahul Jain, Chief Strategy Officer at PNB Housing Finance, on AI-driven skill gaps and the changing workplace.
Workshops connect industry conversations with the classroom
The second day of the conference moved into a student-focused format, with six post-conference workshops held exclusively for JIMS Rohini students.
Vinay Baijal, Director of Business Transformation at a leading US retail chain, explored omnichannel retail and changing consumer behaviour. Roma Jain, Assistant Vice President at Genpact, led “The Modern Manager’s Playbook”, focusing on innovation, execution and leadership in the age of AI.
Rahul Kumar Gupta returned with a workshop on how AI is reshaping e-commerce. Rajat Julka, Chief Operating Officer and Head of the India Development Centre at Trantor, discussed creating value in international trade through AI.
Rohit Handa, AVP and Business Head, Digital Products and Platforms at HCL Technologies, presented “Market Entry in 100 Minutes: What AI Gets Right, and Where It Lies to You”, examining the opportunities and limitations of AI-powered market analysis.
The workshop series concluded with Shalu Ahuja, Digital and Data Products Leader, and Yogesh Balodi, Digital Platforms and Enterprise Transformation Specialist, who presented “The Geopolitical Earthquake”.
For JIMS Rohini, dedicating the second day to students was a deliberate extension of the conference.
“Our students will graduate into workplaces that are being redesigned today, not years from now,” said Dr Pooja Jain, Professor and Director, JIMS Rohini. “Learning directly from industry practitioners helps them understand not just the technology, but the leadership and business decisions that come with it.”
The collaboration with Agile Network India was designed to create that bridge between industry practice and management education, giving students access to conversations taking place inside organisations today.
